May 23--NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Developer Stanley Weiss has a $1.1-million option to purchase the vacant Wickford Elementary School from the town. Town Councll President Elizabeth Dolan said Weiss plans to develop the building, vacant since 2006, into a meeting center and upscale hotel with 30 to 40 rooms.

Dolan said Weiss must obtain a rezoning for the land and approval from the Department of Environmental Management and Coastal Resources Management Council before the project can continue.

Weiss, who created the Hotel Providence in downtown Providence, has a six-month option with the town.

In 2011, North Kingstown voters rejected a $3.85 million bond referendum to rehab the 1904 building and convert it into offices for the town and school administrations.

___

(c)2013 The Providence Journal (Providence, R.I.)

Visit The Providence Journal (Providence, R.I.) at www.projo.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services